Ahmedabad, Feb 21 Skipper Suryakumar Yadav has backed opener Abhishek Sharma, who is enduring a lean patch in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, as India gear up for their first Super 8s clash against South Africa to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of the match against the 2024 T20 World Cup runners-ups, Suryakumar expressed strong faith in Abhishek's comeback and said that the team management is not worried about the opener's form at all. Surya also feels that the No.1 T20I batter will end his lean patch and deliver for the team as the tournament progresses.
“I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek's form; I worry about them. Why are they so worried about Abhishek's form? But I think about those teams who are going to play against him, now that he has not yet scored a run, you know the rest of the answers." Surya said in the pre-match conference.
"It's a team sport, it keeps going on. Now the team has a requirement that the boy should play with his identity. So he is trying to play. If it happens, then it's fine; if it doesn't, then we are there to cover. Last year, he covered for us fully; now we will cover for him as well,” he added.
Abhishek is yet to open his account in the tournament. He began his campaign with a golden duck against the United States, followed by early dismissals against Pakistan and the Netherlands. On each occasion, he fell within the first two overs, without scoring a run.
Earlier, India's bowling coach Morne Morkel also backed the 25-year-old star and said that there have been no discussions regarding his place in the side.
“Absolutely no discussion in our team group about that. Abhishek is a world-class player. So far in the tournament, fortunately, there have been guys stepping up while Abhishek hasn’t been able to score the runs he would like,” Morkel said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“But we are entering a very important phase of the World Cup now, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to deliver, not just for the team, but also for the viewers watching the game, because he’s entertaining and we love to see that. He’s hitting the ball well in the nets; it’s just about getting started and building his innings,” he added.
Abhishek has featured in eight matches against South Africa, scoring 200 runs against the Proteas, including one half-century against the 2024 World Cup runners-up.
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